Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for The Mandalorian Season 3, Episode 6.Bryce Dallas Howard may be best known for her acting work, but since joining the Star Wars franchise in a directorial capacity, she has more than proven herself as the MVP of Star Wars television. The Jurassic World franchise star has a clear talent for directing, no doubt making her father, Oscar-winner and Solo: A Star Wars Story filmmaker Ron Howard, very proud.

Bryce Dallas Howard really could not have asked for a better-launching vehicle for her directing career than the smash hit Disney+ series, The Mandalorian. Since directing Season 1, Episode 4 of the fourteen-time Emmy-winning series, Howard has directed an episode from every following season of the show, as well as one of the stand-out episodes from The Book of Boba Fett, which is already referred to by many as The Mandalorian Season 2.5. As an added bonus, Howard also voiced a fairly major character from Star Wars lore in the animated anthology series, Tales of the Jedi.

Bryce Dallas Howard may not have written the episodes she was a part of, but she has consistently shown a clear passion for quality storytelling and deep reverence for the source material being adapted.

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Bryce Dallas Howard's Star Wars Career Started With "Sanctuary"

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Image via Lucasfilm

Bryce Dallas Howard's Star Wars journey began four episodes into The Mandalorian's first season, with the episode titled "Sanctuary." The episode takes place not long after Mando (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu manage to escape Nevarro, now searching for a new home to hide from bounty hunters and Imperials alike. The pair think they find one on the remote planet Sorgan, and while the grassy environment seems like the perfect place to lie low at first glance, they quickly learn that the nearby villages are being consistently plundered by a band of ruthless raiders. Even worse, the raiders have somehow procured themselves an AT-ST - an infamous Imperial war machine capable of wiping out squads of Rebel troops let alone peaceful villagers. Mando is ultimately able to save the day, but when a bounty hunter comes calling for him and Grogu, the Mandalorian realizes that he and Grogu need to keep moving to escape the Imperial Remnant.

Howard builds some incredible tension in "Sanctuary," particularly any time the AT-ST is on-screen. The infamous "chicken walker" feels like an incredibly powerful threat in this episode, first being teased through its gargantuan footsteps before revealing itself as it peers over a bush with its blood-red eyes. The walker is almost portrayed as if it's a horror movie monster, which is even more impressive given there have been dozens of walkers on screen at once before and this one manages to be twice as scary despite being the only one in the episode. Howard also gives a first glimpse of what life is like for Mando outside the Mandalorian covert, with few opportunities to settle down and start a family.

A 'Clone Wars' Fan Favorite Gets Her Live-Action Debut in "The Heiress"

Bo-Katan Kryze stands and speaks to Din Djarin with her helmet removed
Image via LucasFilm

Howard returned to The Mandalorian in Season 2, Episode 3, with "The Heiress" introducing a hugely prevalent character from Star Wars animation. Following a lead that there may be other Mandalorians on the moon of Trask, Mando and Grogu head to the oceans of the moon to see if the rumors are true. They indeed are, and the Mandalorian they find is none other than Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) - the leader of the Nite Owls and the former bearer of the legendary Darksaber. At first, Mando doesn't believe Kryze and her companions are true Mandalorians, but ultimately assists the Nite Owls in exchange for information on the Jedi.

Bo-Katan is the first of several characters who originated from the animated shows, potentially introducing her to an entirely new audience of Star Wars fans who haven't seen the cartoons. The episode also examines a minor criticism from the prior season, that being the introduction of the Mandalorians' tenant of never removing their helmets. In prior Star Wars content, many Mandalorian characters, like Bo-Katan, regularly remove their helmets, and we learn that Mando belongs to a reclusive sect that claims to cling to the old ways of Mandalore. The conflict reveals Mando having something of a crisis of faith with the revelation that there are fewer orthodox Mandalorians. Ultimately, Mando puts his apprehensions aside, culminating in an incredible battle sequence that sees both sides of the Mandalorian creed fighting side by side against the genocidal Imperials.

The Return of the Mandalorian in 'The Book of Boba Fett' is Howard's Magnum Opus

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Image via Lucasfilm

Many fans weren't fond of how Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) took a back seat in his own series for two episodes focusing exclusively on the Mandalorian in "Return of the Mandalorian," but it's also hard to deny it as the best episode in the series and maybe the best episode of live-action Star Wars ever made.

It's an essential episode to watch as Mando reacts to the conclusion of The Mandalorian Season 2, where he handed Grogu over to Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) to start his Jedi training. In the aftermath, Mando has gone back to his old bounty-hunting ways, even being able to reunite with his mentor, The Armorer (Emily Swallow), and his sometimes rival and sometimes ally, Paz Vizsla (Tait Fletcher). However, when his Mandalorian companions learn Mando removed his helmet, they ostracize him as an apostate, leading Mando to leave and find himself a new mode of transportation. He finds that on Tatooine with his old friend Peli Motto (Amy Sedaris), who helps him repair an old starfighter that he hopes to use to visit his little green friend.

"Return of the Mandalorian" gets off to an incredible start with another great (and surprisingly brutal) action sequence, where Mando tries to wield the deceptively heavy Darksaber to collect a bounty. Things get better with not only a remarkable character study on Mando, showcasing his loneliness, shame, and ambition, but a more than healthy serving of fan service. In less than an hour, Imperial Security Droids from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story sack Mandalore, Mando gets himself an N-1 Naboo Starfighter from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, and there's even the live-action debut of a BD droid from Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Those are all well and good, but one of the greatest homages in the episode is when Mando takes his new ship for a test drive, flying through the same track that young Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) followed during his podrace in The Phantom Menace, complete with the same effective lack of music in the film. So far, "Return of the Mandalorian" is Howard's best work yet, functioning as a flawless balance between incredible storytelling and phenomenal fan service.

Star Wars Is Star-Studded in "Guns for Hire"

Jack Black and Lizzo in The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 6
Image via Disney+

Howard's latest, 'Guns for Hire', doesn't quite live up to her Boba Fett episode (but then again, what can?), but it's still packed with great callbacks and references for fans to enjoy. As Mando and Bo-Katan travel to a utopia to find Bo-Katan's rogue Nite Owls, they meet quite a few characters played by some pretty big names, including a benevolent Duchess (Lizzo), a former Imperial Captain (Jack Black), and a mysterious security chief (Christopher Lloyd). The leaders of the planet promise to help the Mandalorians if they assist in solving their rogue droid problem, where many of their city's robotic servants have gone insane. They eventually discover that the cause was the security chief, revealed to be a Separatist sympathizer whose plan to cause chaos in the city is thankfully stopped.

The celebrities aren't the only recognizable faces in the episode; there are so many different types of droids, some dating back as far away in the timeline as the Clone Wars. Most of the workforce surprisingly is made up of repurposed battle droids, but there are also several servant droids from Jabba's Palace and even a cameo from the RX pilot droids from Star Tours. The droids are ultimately the center of this sub-plot, as we get to see a different side of the robotic figures, not just as mindless drones, but as living thinking beings with their own thoughts and desires. Despite making a friend in IG-11 (Taika Waititi), Mando still has preconceived biases against droids, especially against the same kind that killed his family all those years ago.

Bryce Dallas Howard Made a Surprise Cameo as a Major Figure in 'Tales of the Jedi'

Yaddle in Tales of the Jedi
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Apart from her fantastic directorial work, Howard became a big part of Star Wars animation as the voice of Yaddle, the Jedi Grand Council Member who is a member of Yoda's species, in Tales of the Jedi. Fans have always wondered what happened to Yaddle, since she disappears from the franchise after The Phantom Menace. Tales of the Jedi answers that question, as Yaddle discovers that Count Dooku (Corey Burton) has betrayed the Jedi and turned to the dark side. Yaddle attempts to stop him, but as we know from the rest of the films and shows, she's unable to stop Dooku's plot. A heartbreaking, yet satisfying end to the cult-favorite character, made better by Howard's performance that sells that Yaddle and Dooku were once friends.

New episodes of The Mandalorian Season 3 premiere each Wednesday on Disney+.